To those BUYING in these difficult times....

spend_thrift

It is very hard to find places worth viewing in my search area. Several times I have seen a place I love in my price bracket and when I call the EA to arrange a viewing they tell me it has been taken off the market! I think vendors who know they're sitting on a nice property are hanging on to see if they can nudge themselves up into the next price bracket. Most infuriating are the EAs who put a property on with a "guide price" of £150-£170k and then when I call they tell me it is to draw in more interest and the vendor won't take offers below £170K. I have even had EAs tell me that they have kept a property on their books after it was taken off the market because the vendor asked them to. WHY??? :mad:

I've also noticed that whereas last summer EAs would show me round 2 or 3 properties at a time, this summer they're only interested in showing me the one I have asked to see. I don't know whether that is down to a lack of suitable properties, or whether they're having to tighten up their practices and make better use of their time.

The other thing is asking prices. My cousin has bought a house in the last 6 months and works as a surveyor. She says to offer at least 10% below the asking price or even 15% and to expect to get the property for 95% of the asking price. But the EA is telling me at most I can knock 3% off as my starting offer. Since when did the asking price become so fixed? :eek:

*Grrrr*

/soap box

tyler80

Just the usual agent !!!!!!!!

Anyway, unrelated to that initial 15% under asking price made and rejected. Trying to decide on the next increment, our absolute max is 8.5% under asking.

tyler80

Offer accepted - 12% under asking

Eek, it's all a bit scary now!

paint

spend_thrift wrote: »

:eek:

*Grrrr*

/soap box

I feel your pain, spend_thrift! It's taken me a year of looking, and I there have been only 4 properties even worth viewing!

Please don't give up, though! And ignore the estate agents who insist on 3% below - they're working in their own interest not yours! I'd say look in a price bracket 10-20% above your ideal price, and use property-bee to track the prices as they come down (if you don't have it, property-bee is superb - and free). It gives you a real insight into how desparate the sellers might be!

I finally found a great house (needs a complete cosmetic upgrade) and completed today at 88.5% of asking price.

Bide your time, and don't give up hope!

spend_thrift

Had a second viewing today with my Mum along for a second opinion. She loves the place as much as I do but there's masses of work needed on it. She says it'd be too much for me to take on on my own. I'm really disappointed - the area is lovely and it's close to a train station. But it's been neglected for a long time.

The EA says that's taken into account in the asking price but idk - it needs a LOT of work. :wall:

Mazzawa

Just here for a moan. Went to do some viewings yesterday, a real cross section of properties, and we both fell head over heels for the first one we viewed. Needs work done but not instantly so would try and knock the price down...it's only one of a couple of properties like it in the area up for sale (moving to a small town) and they don't come up for sale very often...would buy it right now if we had sold this bloomin' place!!! Apparently had quite a bit of interest in it already so I just know some lucky sod will get it before we do

Rant over...anyone want to buy my super amazing apartment?!

katepnlo

Thats why i banned myself from viewing properties this time until i sold, lost myt dream house (at the time) as i hadn't sold.

Mazzawa, depending on how much you love this house can you knock your price down? get it shifted quickly?

Mazzawa

katepnlo wrote: »

Thats why i banned myself from viewing properties this time until i sold, lost myt dream house (at the time) as i hadn't sold.

Mazzawa, depending on how much you love this house can you knock your price down? get it shifted quickly?

Unfortunately no only been on the market just over a week so just being impatient (although just sold another property after 6 months on the market so maybe that's why I'm itching to get moving!)

Absolutely love the property! Now to intercept other viewers to stop them buying it...!

tyler80

Sorting out the mortgage tomorrow.

Even though we've got an AIP for 25k more than we want to borrow I'm terrified they'll turn us down. I'm not looking forward to the weeks of waiting

Grimbal

I'm almost at the end of my tether with this whole house buying lark, and just need a quick vent if you all don't mind?

- took over a year to sell (townhouse so restricted market)
- offerred on a property within a week of accepting my offer. This vendor couldn't find a place to go to themselves, so we pulled out (he was also playing silly b*ggers with us)
- this was in October last year, market absolutely dead in our neck of the woods & in our price band, so decided to rent
- had issues finding somewhere to rent (professional couple, n/s, no pets, no children were turned down by LL). minor meltdown for a couple of weeks, but eventually found somewhere
- by March, still nothing coming on the market suitable for us, starting to panic again
- later that month, found a renovation project being sold by open house. Lost out on house to a "no mortgage" couple.
- few weeks later, the "no mortgage" couple's chain fell through & vendors came back to us. Agreed to purchase it
- things starting to run smoothly. Two days before exchange, vendor dies. Probate needs to be applied for.
- deed of probate granted, contract sent out in readiness for exchange. "Full title" guarantee now reads "limited title". means we could be responsible for late vendor's broken covenants etc.
- currently chasing executors to buy indemnity policy to cover us

We placed my old house on the market in August/Sept 2009, and here we are nearly June 2011 still trying to buy together.